The Writer S Guide To Everyday Life In The Wild West

Provides period information on clothes and accessories, food, architecture, medicine, education, communications, crime, and money.

Everyday Life in the Wild West shows you firsthand what it was like to tame the praries, fight the battles and build the boomtowns. From the vittles people ate (including boudins and buffalo humps) to what they wore (such as linsey-woolsey, caliso and duck), this book is packed with historical accounts, maps and photographs to give you a complete perspective of this fascinating era.

Craft a novel that evokes the spirit of the West Western Movies don't appear as frequently today as they did in the 1960s, but those that make the cut in Hollywood prompt frequent Oscar buzz. Nor have Western novels been eclipsed. In 2010, Amazon.com offered 213 new Western novels for sale, plus many reprints of older classics. Writing Westerns examines what a Western is, while teaching you how to research and write one. You'll benefit from the author’s experience—248 books published since 1977—and the example of masters in the field, from Zane Grey and Max Brand to Louis L’Amour and Cormac McCarthy. Each chapter includes a short list of recommended sources for further reading. Appendices to the main text include a glossary of Old West slang and jargon, which is helpful in writing realistic dialogue, a timeline of significant historical events, and a list of classic Western films and novels. Research, talent, and imagination are the keys to writing a successful novel. Join us now, as we set off into the West.

A comprehensive guide that defines the literature and the outlines the best-selling genre of all time: romance fiction. More than 2,000 romances are published annually, making it difficult for fans and the librarians who advise them to keep pace with new titles, emerging authors, and constant evolution of this dynamic genre. Fortunately, romance expert and librarian Kristin Ramsdell provides a definitive guide to this fiction genre that serves as an indispensible resource for those interested in it—including fans searching for reading material—as well as for library staff, scholars, and romance writers themselves. This title updates the last edition of Romance Fiction: A Guide to the Genre, published in 1999.While the emphasis is on newer titles, many of the important older classics are retained, keeping the focus of the book on the entire genre, instead of only those titles published during the last decade. Specific changes include new chapters on linked and continuing romances, a new section on "Chick Lit" in the Contemporary Romance chapter, an expansion of coverage on the alternative reality subset. This is THE romance genre guide to have.

The wonderful and fascinating details of the 1800s have been gathered into one interesting volume, in which McCutcheon has included quotes from 19th-century citizens concerning or describing hairstyles and fashion, favorite swear words and slang, jokes of the period, courtship and marriage rituals, and more. A must for both fiction and nonfiction historical writers.

The word cowboy conjures up vivid images of rugged men on saddled horses—men lassoing cattle, riding bulls, or brandishing guns in a shoot-out. White men, as Hollywood remembers them. What is woefully missing from these scenes is their counterparts: the black cowboys who made up one-fourth of the wranglers and rodeo riders. This book tells their story. When the Civil War ended, black men left the Old South in large numbers to seek a living in the Old West—industrious men resolved to carve out a life for themselves on the wild, roaming plains. Some had experience working cattle from their time as slaves; others simply sought a freedom they had never known before. The lucky travelled on horseback; the rest, by foot. Over dirt roads they went from Alabama and South Carolina to present-day Texas and California up north through Kansas to Montana. The Old West was a land of opportunity for these adventurous wranglers and future rodeo champions. A long overdue testament to the courage and skill of black cowboys, Black Cowboys of the Old West finally gives these courageous men their rightful place in history. Praise for an earlier book by the same author: “Whether you are a history enthusiast or a lover of adventure stories, African American Women of the Old West presents the reader with fascinating accounts of ten extraordinary, generally unrecognized, African Americans. Tricia Martineau Wagner takes these remarkable women from the footnotes of history and brings them to life.” —Ed Diaz, President of the Association for African American Historical Research and Preservation

Legendary crime writer Mickey Spillane’s celebrated tin-star hero Caleb York returns in the explosive Western saga by New York Times bestselling author Max Allan Collins. When Sheriff Caleb York’s deputy is shot down in cold blood, York has no doubt the bullets were meant for him.It’s the first nasty step in a plan rustled up by Luke “Burn ’Em” Burnham—eliminate the law, corral a team to rob a bank in booming Las Vegas, New Mexico, then lay low. With a treacherous local merchant for cover, and York out of the picture, all they’ll have to do is wait for the calm. Then they get wind of one little hitch: not only is York still alive, but he’s gunning for justice—and revenge. As the winter weather bears down, a chilling cat-and-mouse begins. York isn’t about to let Burnham and his gang of miscreants get away. It’d be a cold day in hell if he did. “A classic western . . . a six-gun-blasting winner from the first page to the last.” —Pulp Fiction Reviews on The Legend of Caleb York “Never lets up on the suspense.” —Booklist on The Legend of Caleb York “Well-crafted . . . great fun.” —Publishers Weekly on The Bloody Spur